Rottneros to provide RenFuel with lignin for the production of Lignol
Lignol® (lignin oil) is a product that can replace
fossil oil and be used as raw material in the production of renewable gasoline
and diesel. The Swedish RenFuel has developed
and patented an energy-efficient catalytic process to refine the lignin from
black liquor into that product. The process breaks down the lignin generating a
liquid mixture of hydrocarbons without producing toxic emissions or hazardous
residues.
In April 2016, RenFuel and Nordic
Paper announced the sign of an agreement to build a test facility in
Bäckhammar (region of Värmland, Sweden) with the purpose of demonstrating the Lignol production (see press release). The pilot plant would be financed
by a government grant of SEK 71 million (approximately 7.5 M€) from the Swedish
Energy Agency and built inside the Nordic Paper pulp factory in Bäckhammar. The
grant also covered the development of RenFuels patented method of membrane
filtering. RenFuel started the production of Lignol in the facility during the
spring of this year.
Figure 1. Nordic Paper pulp factory in Bäckhammar (extracted from Nordic
Paper web page) – It hosts the RenFuel pilot plant
Now, according to a recent press release, Rottneros (pulp producer) and RenFuel have entered into an
agreement regarding the raw material to produce Lignol. During 2018, Rottneros
will initiate deliveries of lignin from the company’s pulp plant in Vallvik (Söderhamn,
Sweden) to the RenFuel pilot plant in Bäckhammar. In this way, RenFuel’s access
to lignin is secured through the cooperation with Rottneros.
Another important link in the chain is access to
refineries that have the capacity to produce renewable fuels from Lignol. In
this sense, Preem (the largest fuel company
in Sweden) has previously expressed its interest in processing Lignol at its
refineries to produce renewable gasoline and diesel (see the statement of its
CEO in the press release about the announcement of the agreement to build the
test facility). However, there is no new or additional information about this
point.
